FAQs
- What education and/or training do you have that relates to your work?
I have a master's degree in Geographic Information Science and Technology from University of Southern California and certificates in both Copyediting and Spanish/English Translation from UC San Diego Extension.
- How did you get started doing this type of work?
I've always loved languages, and studied French for six years in high school and college. I further developed my French when I lived in Sub-Saharan Africa from 2003–2004 and then added Spanish to my languages when I spent 2+ years in Argentina from 2007-2009. When I got back from Argentina, I wanted to further develop my Spanish skills, so I enrolled in the 7-course Spanish-English Translation certificate program at UCSD Extension. This program is only open to people who can pass a written entrance exam to demonstrate fluency.
- What types of customers have you worked with?
My jobs fit into five categories: translation (converting a Spanish-language text into an English-language text, preserving the format, meaning, style, and tone of the original), proofreading (checking for and correcting errors in spelling, grammar, capitalization, and punctuation), light copyediting (proofreading, checking accuracy of table, figure, and page numbering and cross-references, and checking for consistency of styleuse of numerals, capitalization, hyphenation, fonts, etc.and formatting), medium copyediting (light copyediting, plus identifying problems of parallel structure, logic, organization, clarity, concision, and readability), and heavy copyediting (medium copyediting, plus rewriting of problem passages to achieve a clear, polished, readable document with smooth transitions and logical flow).